Insurance Planning Questions

I have a life insurance policy, how much insurance do I have? Why did I buy it? How did I come up with that insurance amount? Is it enough or too much? What company did I buy it from? How is that company doing now? When did I purchase it? Is my insurance agent still in business? Is there a newer and better product now? What type of policy is it? Term? Whole Life? Universal Life? Accidental only?  Did I purchase any riders? How does it work? Do insurance companies change their rates from time to time like car insurance? Can I get a better rate on my 5 year old insurance policy from a different insurance company? And extend my term years? Is there such a thing as forever-term? Can I get a better rate if I stopped smoking? A better cholesterol level? Lost a few pounds? Can I keep my  insurance policy through my employer if I lost my job? What if my new employer doesn't offer this benefit? Is it more expensive to get my own insurance when I'm older (when I’m not as healthy as I used to be or is uninsurable due to a major disease)? Is there guaranteed issue product that doesn't consider my health level? Can I get a refund at the end of the term if I don't die? Do I have to die to use the money in the life insurance? Can I take out money in my life insurance for emergency, sickness, disability, long term care needs, retirement supplement, education funding, or for whatever I want to use it for? How is the death benefit taxed? Is the cash value in my account being taxed? How can I access the cash value tax free? Can I invest in mutual funds in my insurance policy? Can I sell my insurance policy for cash?

Do I have Long-Term Disability Income insurance through work? Am I paying for it or my employer is? Can I add more during enrollment? What percentage of my income does it cover? Does it cover my base salary only or plus my commissions and bonuses? How about my stock options? Can I take my disability insurance policy with me when I leave my job? Does it make sense to purchase a supplemental policy on my own? Can I still get it after I leave my job and maintain the same rate? How long does my disability insurance policy cover me for? How long do I have to wait until my benefit kicks in? How do I qualify for the claims? Does it have inflation protection? Does it guarantee that I can purchase more at the same rate even if I'm not healthy or if I changed career? Is my premium guaranteed? Can I still work part time and continue to receive benefit? Does it have survivor benefit? Do I receive benefit as long as I'm disabled? Any other benefits that I’m not aware of?

I have a Long-Term Care insurance policy, is my premium guaranteed to not increase? Has the premium increased before or will be? Does my policy allow me to write off my premiums each year? What if I don't end up using the insurance do I get anything back? Does it pay my beneficiary a death benefit if I die? Do I receive the benefit in the form of cash or reimbursement? Does it cover me forever or just a few years? Under what conditions can I go on a claim? Can my CalPERS plan go up in premiums? I don't have a LTCi policy, how will I pay for my care or my family members' care?

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Education Planning Questions

Should I consider a private elementary school through high school or own a house in a good school district? What are the cost differences? Would I rather live in a smaller house in a better school district? Do I want to pay for my kids' college expenses, such as tuition, room and board? 100% or 50%? What type of schools should they consider? State? UC (CA only)? Private? Out of state or country? When should I start saving for college funds? What are my saving options? 529 plan? Coverdell? Savings bonds? UGMA? UTMA? Life Insurance? Regular investment accounts? Real Estate? Cash? How do these plan work and which one is better suited for me? Will these plans have any negative effects on scholarships and financial aids? Can I qualify for financial aid? What schools offer what types of aid? Public or Private? Are there free scholarship credits? If so, how do I get them? Contact us for a FREE education funding analysis!

Retirement Planning Questions

How much do I need to retire? Am I saving enough to eventually retire comfortably? Is there a gap between my social security and my retirement plans? How do I make up that gap? What if I outlive my retirement plans? What if I want to continue to work but can't due to physically incapable or because no one wants to hire me at that age? Can I rely on social security? What if what they say is true.. that social security is running out of money? What happens to my pension plan if my employer laid me off or closes down the business? Can I self fund a pension plan? What is RMD?What happens if I don't take distributions during RMD? How much am I required to take by the RMD? How much should I withdraw from my retirement plans so that they will last as long as my remaining life?  Calculate your social security benefits. 

Is it true that I will only receive 75% of my social security benefit at age 62? What's the best time to start taking my social security benefit? When will I get the full benefit? Should I take my benefits out first or my spouse's? What if my spouse has passed away? What if I have been divorced? Can I take my ex-spouse's benefit because his/her benefit is higher than mine? How many different ways are there to access my benefits and my spouse's? What's the best way out of all? Contact us for a FREE Social Security Analysis.

How much will healthcare cost me when I'm retired? Run a FREE detailed analysis.

Is there such thing as FREE money from my employer? Should I contribute to my 401k plan? How much should I contribute to it? Is maxing it out always the right answer? Can I contribute more than the max amount set by the IRS? How do I contribute to a Roth IRA if my income is too high? What other options there are that are similar to Roth IRA? How does 401k work? Taxed? Loan options? Penalized? Can I take money out of my 401k at anytime? What's Roth 401k? Why people convert their 401ks to Roth IRA? How does it work? When should I consider doing that? I don't know how to manage my 401k/403b/457 and I never look at it, can someone help me with my 401k/403b/457 investments? What's the difference between a 401k, Solo 401k, 403b, 457, Roth 401k, 401a, 409a, 412e3, Keogh, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, Simple IRA, SARSEP, ESOPs, Annuity, Payroll Reduction IRAs, Defined Contribution, Defined Benefit, Deferred Compensation, Profit Sharing Plan, etc. How do my stock options work? NSO? ISO? ESPP? RSU? RSA? What's exercising an option? When ar they vested? How do I calculate a grant? What are the tax consequences? How do I eliminate or reduce my tax liabilities? When is the best time to sell them? I'm self-employed, what retirement plan options do I have? How do I maximize my tax deductions and contribute enough for my retirement? Contact us for a FREE consultation.

If you haven't asked yourself these important financial questions you are not ready for what life will throw at you. Many of the "unexpected events" in life can be easily prevented if you prepared for it. I will be posting a series of questions that you should ask yourself on Linkedin and these questions have been accumulated from my many years of experience working in the financial service industry. They are designed to help you get ahead of the game and prepare for the worst. If any of this makes sense to you, please consider talking to a qualified advisor who will help design a customized plan just for you. And we certainly hope it’s us!

Defense Planning Questions

What's my most valuable asset? What would happen to me and my loved ones if I can't work anymore due to an injury or sickness? What if this injury or sickness lasts longer than a year or forever? Do I know someone that has had such experience? See real people's stories. 

What would happen to my loved ones if I died today? How will my loved ones pay off my debts, such as the mortgage? My children's education expenses? Other living expenses? Do I know someone that has had such experience? See real people's stories. 

Who will take care of me or my parents or my loved ones if any of us have long-term care needs? Will I take time off from work to take care of them? Will I send them to a nursing home? How much will it cost me or my parents? Whose assets are eventually mine, to receive care? See how much Long-Term Care can cost you. 

Own a house? A business? Investments? Rental properties? Other valuable assets? Am I protected from legal liabilities and property damages? What if my teenage son/daughter hit and injured or killed a pedestrian? What if my renter sues me for no good reason? What if my bathroom sink leaks and damaged my down stair neighbor's properties? What if my house sets on fire and burnt down my neighbor's house and killing one of their family members? Am I prepared for all these unforeseen events?

Are my investments protected from market loss? What if I lose all my savings when I'm ready to retire? How long will it take me to recover from all my losses? Can I purchase insurance on my investments so it'll guarantee me a retirement income? What if I live for too long? Will I outlive my retirement savings? What if social security won't pay me enough? Is there anything out there that can help me mitigate this risk?